southern accents

there's a different way of talking in the south. i grew up hearing people pronounce the words creek as 'crick' and wash as 'warsh'. a large area of land owned by a family was a hollow, but pronounced as 'holler'.
southerners tend to be viewed as slow thinking because we talk (with a lull & sometimes a 'twang') slow, walk (a stroll, really) slow, & eat (fried food, of course) slow. peopleofwalmart.com hasn't exactly helped the south's image either. nascar is viewed as a religious experience in the bible belt ... i may even know a family who decorated their christmas tree with dale earnhardt air fresheners as ornaments in honor of the deceased driver. there's the universal image of either a mobile home on blocks or a large plantation home ... either way, there's a front porch & a pitcher of sweet tea next to a rocking chair in that stereotype.
all stereotypes & jokes aside, some great musical roots have begun in the south.

storytelling is the root of all music. in the south, music passed the time; music told stories of love, religion, land, & work. it was a way to celebrate & mourn. when i think of southern music i think of gospel choirs, bluegrass, & swamp rock. i hear harmonicas, fiddles, & dobroes.

i think just about everyone has heard charlie daniels play the fiddle:





there's a group i don't think many people have heard of yet. carolina chocolate drops play down-home southern "foothills-of-the-mountains" music incorporating kazoos, jugs, knee slapping, & foot stomping (maybe even a washboard ... excuse me: warshboard) with fiddles, banjos, & steel guitars. for anyone who thought pickin' couldn't be cool, watch this video:





levon helm (played with the band & bob dylan back in the day) became a dirt farmer somewhere along the way & released an album last year called electric dirt, which won a grammy.



the black crowes recorded the album(s) before the frost ...until the freeze at levon helm studios in woodstock in front of an audience of fans last year. they experimented with bluegrass on a couple songs on the new album & reminded everyone they're still an authentic southern rock band.




cage the elephant is an important new rock band from kentucky that everyone needs to keep an eye on; they're making good rock music - & there isn't a lot of that right now as far as i'm concerned.





what kinda southerner would i be if i didn't end this with freebird? every concert down here ends with someone holding a cup of beer & yelling from the back of the audience: "play some freebird ... wooooooo!"